Apparatus for washing sheepskins.



WWW z w No. 891,765. PATENTED JUNE 23, 1908. G. DUFOUR.

APPARATUS FOR WASHING SHEEP SKINS.v

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 2, 1907.

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No. 891,765. PATENTED JUNE 23, 1908.

C. DUFOUR.

APPARATUS FOR WASHING SHEEP SKINS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC; 2, 1907.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES DUFOUR, OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TOCHARLES J. OUELLET AND ONE-THIRD TO JOSEPH BROUSSARD, BOTH OF CAM-BRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 23, 1908. A

Application filed December 2, 1907. Serial No. 404,749.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES DU'FOUR, a subject of the King of GreatBritain, and resident of Cambridge, county of Middlesex, State ofMassachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Apparatus for WashingSheepskins, of which tion, in connection with the accompanying drawing,is a specification, like letters on the drawing representing like parts.I

This invention has for its object the production of an apparatus forWashing sheepskins with the wool on, or other articles in 3 such mannerthat the cleansing fluid will be afforded ready access to all parts ofthe articles to be washed, the tub or vat to contain the articles beingrotatably mounted and positively driven and provided with agitators tostir up the contents of the tub.

A positively driven upright shaft is extended into the tub and hasattached stirrers which cooperate with the agitators in keeping thecontents of the tub in movement, the relative positions of the agitatorsand stirrers being such that all danger of tearing or injuring thearticles to be washed is entirely obviated.

The stirrer shaft is driven independently of the tub and in an oppositedirection, and I have provided the bottom of the tub with a step bearingto vertically support the stirrer shaft and also maintain it in axialalinement with the axis of rotation of the tub.

In practice the tub is made of large size and access thereto is had bymeans of a door in the side wall of the tub, said door being tightlyclosed when the apparatus is in operation.

In practice the tub will be continuously supplied with water whichescapes from an outlet at the tub-bottom, said outlet being opened justbefore the rotation of the tub is egun.

The various novel features of my invention will be fully described inthe subjoined specification.

Figure 1 is a side elevation and partial section of a Washing apparatusembodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the tub, thestirrer shaft being shown in section on the line 22, Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is aside elevation of the tub showing the door; Fig. 4 is a sectional detailon the line 4-4, Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 is a detail partly in section of thecomthe following descripbearing for the spinthrough the tub-bottom andthe circular base 6 of a step bearing 7 preferably made as a casting andfor a purpose to be described.

The gear 3 has rigidly secured to or form ing part of it a dependingcentral spindle 8 which extends into an upright, tubular bearing 9having an annular enlargement or flange 1O bolted or otherwise securedto timbers as 11 in the floor of the room in which the apparatus is tobe used, the tubular part 12 of the bearing below the flange 10receiving loosely within it a preferably hardened steel ball 13 on whichthe end of the spindle 8 is supported, as clearly shown in Fig. 5.

The ball takes up the Weight of the tub and attached parts and of thetub contents when the apparatus is in use, and at the same time forms astep bearing having but little friction.

The tubular part 9 of the bearing laterally supports the spindle 8 andmaintains the tub with its axis of rotation vertical.

The upper end of the lateral bearing 9 has an annular, enlarged head 14upon which rests the circular base 15 of the central portion of the gear3, but it will be understood that the weight of the parts carried by thespindle is sustained by the spherical step bearing 13 and not by theflattened head 14.

Rotation is imparted to the tub by suitable means, and herein I haveshown a beveled gear 16 meshing with the large gear 3, and driven fromany suitable source of power (not shown) by a belt applied to a pulley17 on the pinion shaft 18 rotatably mounted in a bearing 19.

The tub has a hole 20 in its bottom adapted to be closed at times by aplug 21, see Figs. 1 and 2, and I have shown an outlet tube 22 dependingfrom the tub and extended through one of the segmental openings 23, seedotted lines Fig. 2 in the gear 3.

In the rotation of the tub, the lower end of this tube 22 which forms acontinuation of the outlet hole 20 travels within a curbing 23 so thatthe wash water escaping from the tub will not drop onto the gearing butwill be discharged below the same and can be conveyed by any suitablewaste device from the curbing.

The wash water is introduced to the tub in any suitable manner, as bypipe 24, overhanging the tub, see Fig. 1.

I have shown the lug 21 as attached to a cord or chain 25, see ig. 1,ledover an overhead sheave 26, so that the plug can be with drawn after thetub has been properly filled with the articles to be washed.

Secured to the ceiling above the tub is a bracket 27 having a bearing 28for the upper end of an upright stirrer shaft 29, located co-axiallywith the spindle 8 and extended into the tub, the upper end of the shaftextending into the bearing 28.

A beveled gear 30 fast on the upper part of the shaft meshes with apinion 31, and a shaft 32, provided with a belt pulley 33, to be drivenfrom any suitable source of power, the shaft 32 being rotatably mountedin a suitable bearing 34 secured to or forming part of the bracket 27.

The sheave 26 is shown in Fig. 1 as carried by an arm 35 de ending fromthe bearing 34.

The lower enc of the stirrer shaft 29 enters and has fixedly secured toit an elongated cylindrical casting 36 provided at its lower end with acylindrical lug 37 which enters the step bearing 7, whereby the shaftand its attached stirrer are vertically supported and also maintained inalinement with the axis of the tub A.

The casting 36 is provided with series of seats 38 and 39. There are twoseries of seats 38, one series being located at the lower end of thecasting 36 and the other series nearer the top of the casting, the seatsin both series, however, being substantially vertical. These seatsreceive stirrers 38*, which in practice will be blade-like pieces ofwood of proper length and dimensions driven into the seats andprojecting radially from the stirrer shaft, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

There are two series of seats 39 alternating with the the series ofseats 38, and referring to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the lower seats39 are inclined in one direction while the-upper series are inclined inthe opposite direc tion, said seats also receiving wooden bladelikestirrers 39 In the present embodiment of my invention, the stirrers arearranged two and two on the stirrer shaft, the stirrers 38 being set atangles of 90 from the stirrers 39 as shown very clearly in Figs. 1 and2.

Upon the inner face of the side walls of the tub A, I secure castings40, 41, there being four of the castings 40 and a like number of thecastings 41, but so arranged that the castings of the one seriesalternate with the castings of the other series, as best shown in Fi 2.

The castings are shaped to present elongated seats 42, 43, respectivelywhich project inwardly toward the axis of the tub, and in each seat Iinsert a blade-like agitator 44, preferably made as a suitably shapedpiece of wood.

To distinguish the agitators in the lower series from those in the u perseries in the tub, the latter are indicated at 44 the set of agitators44 being inclined in one direction while the agitators 44 are inclinedin the opposite direction, and if the rotation of the stirrer shaft isrepresented by the arrow 100, Figs. 1 and 2, the rotation of the tubwill be in the opposite direction, or as indicated by the arrow 150,Fig. 2.

Wetting and swelling of the wood of which the stirrers and agitators aremade will cause them to bind and hold tightly in their seats, so that noother fastening means is necessary, the seats being of such size thatthe stirrer or agitator, as the case may be, can be driven into it witha light hammer blow.

The inclination of the agitators 44 is such as tends to lift thecontents of the tub from its bottom towards its top, while the oppositeinclination of the agitators 44 tends to press the contents downward,thus keeping the skins or other articles in the tub in constantagitation and movement during the rotation of the latter, the stirrerscarried by the shaft 29 cooperating to maintain continuous movement andagitation of the tub contents.

The relatively long distance between the paths of movement of theagitators and the stirrers totally obviates any chance of tearing orotherwise injuring the articles being washed, for the distance is toogreat to admit of an article being caught at one and the same time by anagitator on the tub and a stirrer on the shaft 29.

In actual practice the tub will have a diameter of about twelve feet anda depth of about six feet, and in order to provide ready means fortaking the skins or other articles into and out of the tub, I haveprovided the same with an opening 45 in its side wall, said openingbeing normally closed by a door 46 hinged at its bottom edge at 47 tothe tub wall and opening outward, the door being held securely in closedposition by suitable latches 48, the general construction of the doorand latches being very similar to the construction used in refrigeratordoors.

When the door is swung down, it may be used as a gang-way for theopening 45.

The portion of the tub through which the door opening is cut isstrengthened by a heavy iron band a, the ends of which are broughtaround to the sides of the dooropening, and then turned in against thesame, as at M, Fig. 4, and secured in place by suitable fastenings a theextremities of the band being turned back at (i against the inner faceof the wall of the tub. This serves to rigidly bind and hold the band ain place while at the same time permitting the opening for the door, andnot interfering in any way with the door itself.

In the use of the apparatus, the tub will be filled with the skins orother articles which are to be washed, and after the tub has beenproperly loaded, the door 46 will be closed and fastened, and water orother washing fluid will be let into the tub through the pipe 24, Fig.1.

When the fluid has nearly reached the top of the tub, the plug 21 willbe withdrawn, and the apparatus set in motion to rotate the tub andstirrer shaft in opposite directions, the inflow of cleansing fluidbeing regulated to the rate of discharge, so that the continuouslyagitated objects to be washed will be constantly subjected to the actionof the fresh incoming fluid.

The dirty fluid escapes from the tub through the discharge pipe 22.

The tub and stirrer shafts are rotated at slow speed, the operationbeing continued as long as may be necessary to effect a thoroughcleansing of the articles.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is 1. In apparatus of the class described, arotatable tub having agitators extended inward from its side walls andinclined with relation to the axis of the tub, a depending fixedlyattached, central spindle at the bottom of the tub, a spherical bearingto vertically sustain the spindle, a fixed tubular bearing to sustainthe spindle laterally, means to rotate the tub, a step bearing fixedwithin the tub co-axial with the spindle, an upright stirrer shaftextended into the tub, vertically sustained by the step bearing andmaintained by it in alinement with the tub spindle, and means to rotatethe shaft oppositely to the tub.

2. In apparatus of the class described, a centrally supported, ositivelyrotated tub, a plurality of vertically separated series of agitators onthe side walls thereof, the agitators of one series being inclined inone di rection and those of the other series in the opposite direction,a stirrer shaft extended into the tub and having stirrers attachedthereto and radially extended therefrom, a step bearing in the tub tovertically support and maintain the shaft in alinement with the axis ofrotation of the tub, and means to positively rotate the shaft oppositelyto the tub.

3. In apparatus ofthe class described, a tub having a central opening inits bottom, a

gear having a shouldered hub inserted in said opening, an axial spindledepending from the lower face of the gear, a step bearing having anextended base resting upon the tub bottom co-axial with the spindle,bolts rigidly connecting the bearing base, gear, and tub bottom, and acombined thrust and lateral bearing for and into which the spindle 1Sextended.

4. In apparatus of the class described, a tub having inwardly extendedagitators on its side walls, a depending spindle rigidly secured to thebottom of the tub, a ball on which the spindle rests, means to laterallysupport the spindle, an upright shaft, a series of radially extendedstirrers thereon, means to rotate said shaft, a step bearing on thebottom of the tub, to vertically supportand maintain the shaft intheaxis of rotation of said tub, and means to rotate the latterindependently of the shaft.

5. A rotatable tub for washing apparatus, com rising a bottom, and sidewalls, the latter having an opening therein, a door to closesaid openingwhen the tub is in use, a series of castings rigidly attached to themner faces of the side walls, each casting having an elongated seat, andblade-like agitators mounted in the seats and extending inwardly towardthe center of the tub.

6. A rotatable, non-metallic tub for washing apparatus, series ofmetallic seats mounted on the inner faces of its side walls, andblade-like agitators mounted in the seats and extended inward toward thecenter of thetub.

7. A rotatable, non-metallic tub for washing apparatus, series ofmetallic seats mounted on the inner faces of its side walls, the seatsof one series being inclined in one d1- rection and those in the otherseries in the opposite direction, and non-metallic bladelike agitatorsinserted in the seats and projecting inward from the side walls of thetub.

8. In apparatus of the class descr1be d, a tub having two series ofoppositely inclined and inwardly extended agitators mounted on its sidewalls, a central depending spindle to support the tub and to which it isrigidly secured, an upright shaft extended into the tub, a casting faston the shaft and having series of seats, outwardly projecting stirrersmounted in the seats, a step bearing fast on the bottom of the tub inalinement with the s indle, and a projection on the bottom of tliestirrer casting to enter said bearing, to vertically sustain the shaftand maintain it co-axial with the tub spindle, combined with drivinggears fast on the spindle and shaft, respectively.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES DUFoURf Witnesses:

THOMAS J. DRUMMOND, JOHN G. EDWARDS. "U1

